Thursday night’s The Big Bang Theoryseason 12 episode 16 is far more than just your typical episode of the CBS sitcom! After all, you’re getting a chance to see William Shatner and a number of other super-famous people as guest stars.

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In case you haven’t heard all that much about “The D&D Vortex,” here is what matters more than anything else. You’re going to have a chance to see one of the greatest nights of Leonard’s life, as he attends a Dungeons & Dragons game attended by the likes of Shatner, Kareem Abdul-Jabber, Kevin Smith, and also Joe Manganiello (who is an active D&D player in real life). Wil Wheaton is the connective tissue between Leonard and the rest of the group.

This is a pretty odd assortment of big names but, by and large this proves to be rather funny. It’s also comical that apparently, Kareem plays D&D wearing a shirt with his name on it (and also a UCLA jacket – go Bruins!), almost as though nobody would otherwise know he is one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Even sitting down, you can see just how much taller he is than anyone else.

Over the years, The Big Bang Theory has had a number of fantastic guest stars, and we feel like this episode is meant to take advantage of several of the people the show wanted to get before the series finale. We know that they’ve specifically asked Shatner in the past, but this is the first time that they’ve been able to actually lock the man in for an appearance. We are really excited to see what he brings to this D&D table.

There’s one other really-funny component to this episode, based solely on what we’re seeing in this preview — imagining Sheldon’s reaction after learning that Leonard gets to spend time with some of these people. Don’t you imagine that he’s going to be just a little bit jealous?

For a bonus clip, the second preview below seemingly shows the aftermath of the game, where Leonard is keeping quiet about his exploits … but Penny also isn’t altogether eager to learn about it. Why? She really doesn’t care. Though, wouldn’t Penny at least be a Manganiello fan? She seems to be the sort of person who could’ve been into True Blood for at least a little while.

What are you the most excited to see when it comes to this episode of The Big Bang Theory? Be sure to share now in the comments. (Photo: CBS.)